Mesmerism
by Number Ten
Summary: Emma Swan wakes up unable to recall anything about herself. Desperate, she seeks help from a hypnotist, who has his own sinister plans and knows more than one thinks. Meanwhile, in the Enchanted Forest, Hook and Emma's family are desperate to get back to her, while also helping the kids of Auradon after they cannot return to their own realm.


Prologue: Who am I?

When she opens her eyes, bright pale lights shine directly into her face. She blinks extremely hard as her world slowly but surely comes back into focus. She takes in a deep breath and slowly attempts to sit up, despite the pain it seemed to cause her body. She notices that she's in a very, clean, sterile, and sanitized room because of the strong smell of cleaning products that slowly begin to enter her nose. She wrinkles her nose at the strong scents and she turns to one side of the bed that has a window covered in horizontal blinds. It was presenting a view of a location that she wasn't familiar with. A pale gray blanket covers her feet and she notices that she's in a blue hospital gown.

Just then, the machines tracking her vitals begin to go haywire and it startles her a little bit. She turns to see all the complicated devices blinking and flashing in various ways. She moves her arm, only to discover an IV inserted and clear fluid being slowly syphoned into her body. Behind the machines is a curtain pulled over so she could not see what might be happening on the other side of it.

Immediately, the woman attempts to remove the IV and other various wires and tubes attached to her body, finding them no longer necessary.

Suddenly, a face peers from behind the curtain, a man in a similar pale blue outfit and holds a clipboard. Once he sees what the woman is doing, he rushes over and puts strong hand on top of hers to stop the unplugging.

"Please don't do that," he says gently.

The woman opens her mouth to speak. "W-Why not?" Her first few words are a bit soft and gravelly, as if she had not used her voice in a long time.

"Because until we know what has happened to you, we need to keep track of your vitals and ensure that you are healthy."

"What do you mean what happened to me? Where am I?"

The woman obviously had figured out that she was at a hospital, but where this particular healthcare centre was needed to be seen.

"You're in Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital." (A real hospital look it up).

"Maine?" the woman says in bewilderment.

"Yes, Maine U.S.A."

"Why am I here?"

"We are actually hoping that you could answer that question for us," the man says, as he turns to the machines and uses the clipboard to record all the information.

"What do you mean? What happened to me?"

"That is to be determined, but before we answer any more of your questions, I'm going to call the doctor in to check you over."

"But…"

However, the male nurse vanishes before the woman can receive another answer. Her heartbeat accelerates and she can feel herself beginning to hyperventilate, so scared of what is occurring around her. She has no memory of what happened to her or even… who she really was.

Within a few moments, the poor woman is bombarded by several doctors and nurses who rush around and attempt to take blood samples, check her vitals, ensure she was fed, and many other things. It's so overwhelming that almost immediately the woman's head begins to throb so badly that she needs to shut her eyes to try and control the pain. She grinds her teeth together as if it feels as though a hot iron railroad spike is being driven into a certain part of her head that is throbbing. Other parts of her brain make her head feel that it had a million tiny pins being stuck into it at every angle. Then a hot flash of what felt like lightning enters her head and seemingly cracks her skull open. The woman lays back, feeling unable to think anything, feel anything but pain, or even breathe. The sensations inside become so painful that she graciously embraces the darkness when it returns to take her again.

…

After what feels like an eternity, the woman's hazel eyes open again and all the rushing and the people are gone, except one. A female doctor who sits beside her bed and once she sees that the patient is awake, removes the cool, damp cloth from her forehead. She gives the patient a smile, one that allows the poor woman to relax a little, she feels more secure and cared for, reassured that everything was going to be fine.

"Everyone panicked when you went unconscious again, but I knew you were just overwhelmed and passed out, especially in your condition."

"My condition?" she asks in confusion.

"Why yes, the state you were found in and the pregnancy."

"P-Pregnancy?!" the woman stammers.

"Yes, about three months now, and with all the hormones and your body adjusting to the changes, feelings of dizziness and disequilibrium are fairly common…"

"Wait, wait, wait," the woman says, wanting to backtrack. "I'm pregnant?"

"Yes, did you not know that?"

"I don't know a lot of things," the patient answers. "I don't know where I am, or what happened for me to end up here, or even who I am."

"Oh…" the doctor says, her cheerful and seemingly reassuring smile vanishes. She begins going through the paperwork in her lap and makes several notes that the patient cannot see. "That is rather concerning."

The female doctor pauses.

"Do you know today's date?"

"No." is the response.

"Do you know how old you are?"

The woman shakes her head no.

Then came the big question:

"Do you know your name?"

The helpless patient's mind draws a complete blank, unable to form proper thoughts in her own head. Her heart rate increases again, symbolized by the rapid beeping on the monitors beside her and again her head begins to throb.

Instantly the doctor sees what's happening, watching the woman's face flush red and sweat beginning to bead on her forehead. She puts the cool cloth back on and uses her gentlest touch to push the woman back onto the pillow.

"You need to relax and keep your blood pressure down, it's not good for the baby or your body as a whole…"

"But… but I don't know who I am…"

"I understand, but we're hoping that that will come back with time. You definitely need more rest and to recover. It's possible that your lack of memory could be from the trauma you suffered."

"What trauma?!" the woman practically screams.

Again, the doctor attempts to keep the woman lying down and gently shushes her to bring her vitals back to a steady measure. There was no way the medical team could sedate this woman with a baby, it was too risky, so they would have to rely on standard calming techniques to keep this person calm. So far the doctor was able to keep the patient down on the bed without assistance, but fear grew inside her stomach that she might have to call in orderlies or other nurses if this situation continued to escalate.

"We'll figure that out soon," the medical professional says softly, even though she didn't have much confidence in her own words. "We hope that time will bring everything back."

"You're seriously pinning my condition on hope?" the patient snaps.

"I know it's not much, but right now what you need to do is settle down for the sake of your baby and yourself."

The patient sighs in frustration and grinds her teeth, trying to fight to sit up and also fight the pain in her head.

"I can tell you one thing, you did have identification when you were found, so we can tell you your name."

"What is it?!" the woman asks anxiously.

"It's Emma Swan."


End file.
